Taekwondo Framlingham

Images of young children doing rapid punches and energetic kicking manoeuvres, are what come to mind at the mere mention of Taekwondo. There's no doubt that the younger generation are more equipped to contend with the physical demands of this high energy sport, but this does not mean that people of every age group can't get involved. You do however need to be relatively agile to fully enjoy all the intricacies of Taekwondo.

Taekwondo is a martial art that mostly involves high-kicking moves and manoeuvres, in particular spinning/jumping kicks, rapid kicking styles and head kicks. It started in Seoul, in southern Korea in the 1940's, when a number of martial arts enthusiasts founded schools known as "kwans", which blended various martial arts practices.

Taekwondo is popular with the people of Framlingham and with over 60 million others worldwide. Joining a local Taekwondo club or class in Framlingham is a good way to get involved with this activity which is now an Olympic sport. While the chances of you getting to Olympic standard are pretty slim, there is no reason at all why you cannot master this thrilling martial art.

For many folks in Framlingham, it's the self-defence element of Taekwondo that has the most appeal. And in these times of ever increasing violence, especially in town and city centres, it really is no surprise that this aspect features high on people's priority lists. It is a key factor of Taekwondo that you're able to become more confident in your ability to defend yourself and at the same time learn to respect other people and learn self-restraint.

There's a very good chance that your eagerly mastered Taekwondo skills will never need to be proven in your everyday life, but it will undoubtedly give you reassurance knowing that they're there should you ever need them.

Your First Taekwondo Lesson

Different Taekwondo schools in and around Framlingham will have different ideas about what enrollees should be covering on their initial class, but to give you a perception of what you should expect most initial Taekwondo classes will incorporate a warm-up, a bit of sparring, learning basic Poomse (forms), an introduction to kicks, stances, hand attacks and blocks (technical training) and a warm-down to relax weary muscles and get the body back to a state of equilibrium.

If you wish to join a Taekwondo class in Framlingham, you'll also have to register with the sport's official regulating body, namely British Taekwondo. By visiting British Taekwondo's official website you can obtain details on first aid, members and clubs, events, coaching courses, coaches and tournament referees, establishing a new Taekwondo club, safeguarding and equality, health and safety, news, and a lot more Taekwondo related facts.

Safety Equipment

In all contests, tournaments and events being held under the authority of British Taekwondo, safety gear such as shin guards, a blue or red head guard, a groin guard, a mouth guard, blue or red body armour, forearm guards and hand protectors is mandatory. The fast kicking manoeuvres employed in Taekwondo can cause injury and these preventative measures help to make this activity safer for its competitors.

Taekwondo Belts (Rank)

The belt and ranking structure can get rather confusing in Taekwondo as there isn't any standardized arrangement throughout the diverse Taekwondo styles. Similarities do exist though, and generally there are 2 separate belt groups, represented as "juniors" (colours) and "seniors" (black dans). The number of rankings in the junior groupings varies over the styles but is commonly between eight and twelve belts, whilst the senior group generally has 9 dans or belts.

In the UK Taekwondo has a sequence of ranks (belts) that are generally known as "Kup", these ranks range from Tenth (lowest) to First (highest). As with many of the martial arts, the Taekwondo belt order is portrayed by a number of different colours, so that the ranks can be easily identified. These colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with transitional belts with stripes in-between, specifically - white with a yellow stripe, yellow with a green stripe, green with a blue stripe, blue with a red stripe and red with a black stripe. Beginner students of Taekwondo in Framlingham will commence with the White Belt (Tenth Kup), and proceed through the various coloured belts until they earn the First Kup (Red Belt With Black Stripe)

Taekwondo students in Framlingham are called "black belt candidates" once they've worked their way through these rankings, and they will then need to move through an additional 9 ranks (Dans) if they wish to achieve the greatest distinction of "Black Belt" in Taekwondo. Hence, the Taekwondo belt order can be grouped into 3 divisions; Junior Belts, Senior Belts and Black Belts. The Taekwondo Belts in the Junior group are; 10th (White), 9th (White With Yellow Stripe), 8th (Yellow), and 7th (Yellow With Green Stripe). The Taekwondo Belts in the Senior division are; 6th (Green), 5th (Green With Blue Stripe), 4th (Blue), 3rd ( Blue With Red Stripe), 2nd (Red), and 1st (Red With Black Stripe). The Taekwondo Belts in the Black group go from 1st to 9th Dan, a process which takes many years.

Beginners Taekwondo Framlingham

It doesn't matter who you are or what you're capable of in Taekwondo, at some time you were a complete novice, knowing nothing and fearing failure. We've all started out at that point and are only able to learn and develop with practice. Beginner Taekwondo classes in Framlingham are the best place get started on that learning journey and to acquire the necessary basics so that you can gain confidence and move forward in your Taekwondo experience. The majority of beginner classes are geared up to be fun and friendly, providing a slow introduction to the basic Taekwondo values and building a solid foundation for the future.

Competitions

A regular Taekwondo competition features sparring, patterns and breaking, where the Olympics is concerned only sparring is involved. With that being said there are also some unique categories in certain tournaments such as self-defence and team demonstrations. WT tournaments are purely soft-contact events, while International Taekwon-Do Federation contests permit some hand attacks aimed at the head. There are also some multi-discipline tournaments.

Taekwondo Forms (Patterns)

Taekwondo forms (also known as Poomse or patterns) are identified by particular activities such as direction, stance and technique. From the start you are going to get to grips with a few of the important forms, and so as to move through the levels (belts) you will have to learn some more technical ones.

Taekwondo Kicks

Taekwondo is probably best known for its acrobatic kicks, here are some of the basic kicks you will learn as a novice: Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi), Hook or Whip Kick (Huryeo Chagi), Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Front Kick (Ap Chagi), Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi). Taekwondo Blocks: To repulse the various kicks and hand attacks there are an equally diverse range of "blocks". Held in various positions, they employ the hand and areas of the arm. Each "block" can be coordinated with a kick or punch to create a counter-attacking movement, and each one is appropriate for a specific attack. The most used Taekwondo blocks (makgi) include: Knife Hand Block, Palm Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Upper Block, Low Block, Rising Block, Double Forearm Block, Single Forearm Block and Nine Block.

To Summarize

We can more or less guarantee that if you participate in Taekwondo you are going to make more friends, improve your levels of fitness and gain self-confidence. If that's all you get out of it, then that is great, and you can call it an achievement! We aren't all looking to be Jade Jones's or Lutalo Muhammad's, but those of you who are, still need to start with the very first step. Good luck with your journey!